Second Chance
by Ephriokko
Summary: Just a bit of speculative fiction about the upcoming "Rayman Origins" game. Based on the presumption that RO is set before the first game.


A troublemaker… that's what you are. A misfit, a disappointment to those who gave you life. Instead of becoming the savior that you were expected to be, you decided that you preferred a more exciting and unpredictable way of life.

You brought senseless destruction, attacked innocents, left mayhem and chaos wherever you set foot. You didn't have a care in the world, only living for the moment and the bewilderment that your mischief caused. You found someone to share it with, and with them, you felt as though nothing could ever hold you down.

Your reputation became that of a scoundrel, and the people learned to distrust you. You didn't care what they thought. They couldn't do anything to you. You were at the top of the world, and it nothing would ever be able to take that away from you.

It wasn't easy for them to catch you. It took much effort and time passed far too quickly; by the time you were finally detained, the damage had been done. Your reputation had been marred. You couldn't be a savior to a people that feared you. You had a chance, but you wasted it without a second thought.

When you're at the top of the world, you have so much farther to fall.

It's ironic, in a way, how your mischievousness was what caused your downfall. Spoiled by freedom and lack of responsibility, how were you to expect the cold, harsh reality that the world was not your playground? That your actions would bring consequences? Or that those gifted with power have so much more to lose?

Perhaps such concepts were unknown to you then… but you learned them soon enough. A lesson that was unmerciful and brutally blunt. If you could not use your powers for good, then you could not use them at all.

You still remember the pain, don't you? How it feels to be drained of everything you lived for—the sheer joy and independence, the confidence that you were untouchable and could do as you pleased. You lost it all that day, and you weren't even allowed to raise a finger in defense as it was taken away from you.

After that, you became an outsider. No longer are you feared, but pitied and scorned. You've been changed, and they knew it. You were once carefree; now all you know is a life of shame, humiliation and rejection. You stay away, not only because you have been exiled, but because of your newfound vulnerability.

You've fallen so far. You've lost so much.

No longer can you experience the exhilaration of flight, or the wind blowing through your hair as you sprint through the forest. The once-close bond you once shared with the Lums has been severed, and you cannot even raise a fist in your defense. Forcefully pacified, you learn the hard way what the terror you once spread feels like firsthand. You learn so much that you'd never known, so many painful things that you hadn't even thought to possibly exist.

Perhaps worst of all was the separation from your only ally, your only friend.

To one who has never before known loss, the inevitable punishment is agonizing. What feels like an eternity must have passed to you, an eternity of loneliness and humiliation. The only comfort you have are the Lums, who refuse to abandon you even though your connection with them has been broken. Little flickers of light that remind you of a time that once was, of an innocent freedom you once knew, of a friend you once had.

You've grown quiet as time has passed. Docile and gentle, you wander aimlessly among the trees, taking care to avoid those who are still angered with your past actions. A world of daydreams and secluded tranquility, where the Lums are your only consolation and you are isolated from the outside world. You have grown to accept this solitary existence, at one with nature and eventually befriending the little creatures of the forest you inhabit. All is at peace.

One day, something happens. You are not sure why, but the Lums have disappeared and the forest, normally so full of life, is unnaturally quiet. You weave through the trees and plants, but the once-enchanting beauty of the forest has been silenced, and you grow frightened and uncertain. You are truly alone now, and the Lums have abandoned you. You thought you knew loneliness before, but the forest around you has always been inhabited by whispering spirits and the air was so full of magic that the plants themselves danced and quivered of their own accord.

Now even that has disappeared, and your dreamlike hideaway has become a truly frightening place. Confused and painfully alone, you spend your days wishing that the life in the forest will return, always searching for a sign that it has come home. Instead you find that your home has been invaded by unfriendly delinquents that only want to harm you or anyone else they find.

You hide away, knowing that you don't stand a chance against them. For the first time in a long time, you wish that you had the power you once commanded. But this time you want to use it to protect the place that has become your home, to stop these criminals from hurting innocents they encounter, to find the Lums and discover what went wrong.

Before long, a figure you never thought you'd see again appears from your past, a haunting reminder of what you once were. You don't know how to react; the fairy is the one who gave you life, the one who watched in distress as you spread chaos, the one who eventually took away everything you had. You struggle with yourself, unsure of whether to feel remorse or anger. And then she speaks.

She speaks of how everything has been thrown off-balance, that a sinister villain has stolen the life of the world and imprisoned the Lums. She speaks of how she failed to defeat him and how powerful he's become.

And then she surprises you. She asks for your help.

You don't know how to respond. Why would she want your help? You? You who had shamed her kind by rejecting the destiny she had laid out for you? You who had become powerless by her hand? Why?

She surprises you again by offering a bargain. You atone for your past deeds by stopping the evildoer who had disrupted harmony, and in return your power will be returned to you. Your connection to the Lums and the world itself will be restored.

After you've made your decision, she brings out something strange and beautiful. A silver Lum…

A string of light flickers into existence, a visible indication of the connection that is beginning to rebuild itself. It extends from the silvery light the fairy holds to very core of your being, and after a brilliant flash of light, the Lum travels along the renewed bond and is absorbed into you. You feel stronger, hopeful, and you find that your fighting spirit has been returned to you. This time, it isn't raw and untamed; it is refined and controlled by the determination to protect and undo harm.

The fairy disappears, unable to muster the power to return everything you'd once had until later. You're disappointed, but you understand how lifeless and dim the world has grown. You've been tasked to restore it to its former glory, and something you'd only dared to dream has finally happened.

You've been given a second chance.


End file.
